Bruce Rutherford's Egypt After Mubarak is an ambitious effort to explain how the Muslim Brotherhood, the judiciary, and the business sector can work in parallel, if not exactly together, to influence Egypt's political future.

The promise of a democratic Egypt faces its starkest challenge yet as a military crackdown on Islamist protestors threatens to unhinge the transition process. This Issue Guide provides background and analysis.

In the wake of Egypt's tightly contested presidential election, this CFR Issue Guide provides expert analysis and essential background on the country's evolving political situation as the civilian leadership faces a growing power struggle with the military.

High food prices, lack of jobs, and widespread corruption are as rampant in Pakistan as they are in Egypt. Analysts warn against a return to military rule in search of stability and recommend greater economic reforms.

The Arab world is watching warily as protests in Yemen, Jordan, Algeria, and Syria add to regional unrest. All are rooted in concern over economic mismanagement and repression, but any new cast of leaders would face steep challenges.

Isobel Coleman writes that the emphasis on vocational education and training (VET) in Egypt's new constitution's has merit, but other countries' struggles with training the workforce of tomorrow are sobering. Put simply, effective VET programs are hard to do.

Isobel Coleman writes that while it is widely recognized that food and fuel subsidies in Egypt are expensive and inefficient, Egyptian leaders do not want to touch the political third rail of subsidy reform. But they also realize that the country's fiscal situation is untenable without it. Sooner or later, serious subsidy reform is inevitable, and a well-planned process is preferable to the alternative.

CFR Experts Guide

The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.

New Council Special Reports

Campbell evaluates the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency and recommends that the United States support Nigerian efforts to address the drivers of Boko Haram, such as poverty and corruption, and to foster stronger ties with Nigerian civil society.

Koblentz argues that the United States should work with other nuclear-armed states to manage threats to nuclear stability in the near term and establish processes for multilateral arms control efforts over the longer term.

The authors argue that it is essential to begin working now to expand and establish rules and norms governing armed drones, thereby creating standards of behavior that other countries will be more likely to follow.

2014 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2014 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »